As President Donald Trump works closely with America’s allies in the Middle East amidst the ongoing conflict with Iran, an advocacy group tied closely to Democratic donors is trying to steer Trump’s policy on Lebanon away from Israel.
Trumpworld sources told the Washington Reporter that the American Task Force on Lebanon’s (AFTL) leaders’ staunch support for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election make its requests “dead on arrival.”
ATFL’s president, Ed Gabriel, was a critical surrogate for Harris in 2024, lending her campaign efforts credibility at a time when her mixed messaging on foreign policy left many wondering what her policies would look like should she win.
On November 5, 2024, right before the election, Gabriel published an op-ed in The Hill endorsing Harris — the culmination of a series of pro-Harris moves by him and his organization. In the piece, Gabriel argued that “it has become evident that the president has no partner for peace in Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, thousands of innocent Palestinians have been killed and the hostages remain in captivity. Vice President Harris has exhibited strong leadership with our allies and partners in the Middle East to protect our interests and prevent the further suffering of more innocent victims.”
Gabriel also slammed Trump, writing that “the alternative is Donald Trump, who has said nothing of substance regarding Lebanon and his comment to the Israelis concerning the Israeli-Gaza war was, ‘finish the job!’”
While ATFL’s stated mission is to “educate policymakers and the public about the importance of a robust US-Lebanon bilateral relationship” its statements often conflict with the goals of the Trump administration as the administration has backed Israel’s defensive war against Hezbollah. Many of its statements condemn Israel without naming Hezbollah. A prominent Republican congressmen expressed concerns to the Reporter that a group led by a Harris ally would try to influence the Trump administration’s Middle East policies.
Even before his pro-Harris op-ed, Gabriel helped organize “prominent Lebanese Americans [to endorse] Democrat Kamala Harris for president, saying in a letter that the U.S. had been ‘unrelenting’ in its support for Lebanon under the Biden administration and they expect additional backing if Harris wins in November,” as Reuters reported at the time. “Gabriel is one of several Arab American and Muslim leaders who met with Harris when she visited Flint, Michigan, on Oct. 4.”
A Republican Senate source told the Reporter that “ATFL’s problem is that it is led by someone who argued that Kamala Harris would make a great president. They’re not going to be taken seriously by any Republicans. Anyone who thinks that Kamala Harris would be better for our interests in the Middle East has no business making policy recommendations to President Trump on Lebanon or anything else.”
Gabriel was also a key connector for the Biden-Harris administration. At one point, Gabriel and ATFL hosted Amos Hochstein — who ran point on the Biden administration’s Lebanon policy — in the key swing state of Michigan to “brief[] the local community on the Biden Administration’s efforts to restore calm in the region.”
